


Vocal Rest

by writeitininkorinblood



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Skype, pure fluff, vocal rest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 15:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3983815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writeitininkorinblood/pseuds/writeitininkorinblood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan's mandatory vocal rest proves to be somewhat problematic when it comes to Skype chats with Chad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vocal Rest

**Author's Note:**

> Now it's been a while since I've seen High School Musical so I want to apologise for any inaccuracies in this.  
> I don't know why this happened. But it did. I blame exams. They mess with the brain.

Juilliard was far from Albuquerque. Almost two thousand miles far. Ryan couldn’t really visualise that degree of far. He knew not what it looked like, but he did have a pretty good idea of what it felt like. Chad was at the other end of those two thousand miles. And that made the distance hurt. A lot. Two thousand miles, when Ryan thought about it (which he tried not to do, by making himself as busy as possible), felt like drops of scalding lead, to borrow words from Marlowe. Not that Ryan was entirely sure of what scalding lead felt like, but he’d guess it felt somewhat like this.

Their way of making it hurt a little less was daily Skype chats. Two thousand miles didn’t seem quite all that far when Ryan could look at Chad from the comfort of his dorm room. A little window into Chad’s life back home. They could usually talk for hours. Sharing the tiny details of their lives with each other was a great comfort and it shrank the far as much as anything except physical contact could.

Talking was a lot more difficult when you were on vocal rest, as Ryan was. His theatre group’s production of _Newsies_ opened soon and he was at dangerous risk of having to mouth Race’s words instead of actually singing them. A week of mandatory vocal rest was therefore forced upon him. With no respite to talk. Not even to discuss his day with his boyfriend. That didn’t mean Ryan was keen on the idea of forfeiting his Skype chats, though. Come hell or high water he would never miss a call. Rehearsals, homework, tech. None of it could keep him away. Having no voice was hardly even a hurdle to jump.

Ryan grinned as Chad’s face appeared on his screen, first blurry and then suddenly sharpened. He felt the usual ache in his chest that he couldn’t run his hands through Chad’s hair or kiss him or fall asleep next to him, but he quickly pushed those thoughts away so he could enjoy the digital contact he did get.

“Hello, love.” Chad launched into a greeting, happy as ever to see his boyfriend. Ryan could only wave back, but he did so enthusiastically. Chad’s smile faltered.

“Aren’t you talking to me…? Have I done something…?” Worry burned in dark eyes. Ryan shook his head frantically, gesturing at his throat to try and explain, looking around for a pen and paper to write the words he had to deny his voice.

“Are you trying to tell me you’ve lost your voice? Yet you still thought it would be a good idea to call me on Skype? You muppet. That’s one of the many reasons text based conversation was developed.” The words were teasing, laced with affection and amusement. Chad didn’t think he’d ever fully understand what went through Ryan’s head, but he didn’t really want to. He liked that his boyfriend was one bewildering surprise after another. It was what made Ryan Ryan.

Ryan just frowned and opened the instant message window. For a moment there was nothing but the clicking of keys as Ryan typed out a message.

 

**Ryan Evans: Haven’t lost voice. In danger of that, though. So vocal rest.**

 

“Awh. How long? You’ll still get to be in your show, right? I can’t wait to see you.” Chad looked honestly concerned, which made Ryan’s heart swell. The mention of Chad travelling two thousand miles just to see him in a theatre group show made Ryan blush. He liked being reminded that he mattered to Chad, not that he had reason to doubt it.

 

**Ryan Evans: one week. The vocal rest is so I will get to be in the show.**

**Ryan Evans: and I can’t wait to see you, either. I miss you.**

 

“I miss you, too.” Chad tried to supress his frown, but Ryan still caught it and futilely wished he could kiss it away. “Why didn’t you just text me and tell me you’re on vocal rest?”

 

**Ryan Evans: …..**

**Ryan Evans: I didn’t want to go a week without seeing you.**

Chad couldn’t help but laugh. He would have hated to go the week without seeing Ryan’s face, too. It was the pout on Ryan’s face that made Chad laugh, a pout that only intensified after Chad’s reaction.

 

**Ryan Evans: shut up**

 

“No, it’s cute. I’m flattered.” Chad winked overdramatically. “I love that you’d miss me so much. I love _you_.”

Ryan went to return the sentiment, but just managed to bite back the words. His brow furrowed. ‘I love you’ was probably the thing he said most to Chad and he hated not being able to express it.

“Are you alright?”

 

**Ryan Evans: I can’t tell you I love you.**

**Ryan Evans: I hate vocal rest. It sucks.**

“You can type it. And I know you love me, babe. It’s okay.” Ryan had probably told Chad enough in the past that he was good to not talk for several months and it would still average out to at least once a day. Not that Chad was in any way prepared to not hear Ryan’s voice for months. That was absolutely never going to be a thing, Chad was adamant.

 

**Ryan Evans: It’s not the same.**

**Ryan Evans: Wait!**

Ryan opened a new window and Chad could hear him clicking away at keys again. It took a few minutes of navigating Google before Ryan returned to his Skype window with a smile on his face. He raised his hand with his middle and ring finger curled towards his palm; his thumb, first finger and little finger outstretched.

“Sign language? You’re such a dork.” Even as he was shaking his head in mock despair, Chad couldn’t keep the affectionate grin from sneaking control of his mouth.

 

**Ryan Evans: You love it.**

 

It wasn’t a question. Ryan was secure in the knowledge that he was loved. But he still couldn’t stop himself biting his lip to hide a grin and flushing at Chad’s response of “I do” and an echo of the signed gesture.

It was difficult to have an entire conversation that was half typed and half spoken, but they managed. They managed every night for the length of Ryan’s week long vocal rest. Chad was more than willing to be patient as Ryan typed out lengthy descriptions of his day. They got used to the communication, with Chad getting better and better at being able to gauge Ryan’s emotions from his facial expressions alone. The ‘I love you’ gesture was passed between them frequently, never failing to bring a smile to the recipient’s face.

The next time Chad heard Ryan’s voice was at JFK airport. As soon as Chad was through the Arrivals doors he was accosted by an overexcited Ryan peppering his face with kisses and breathing whispered ‘I love you’s. Chad’s hands automatically went to Ryan’s waist, pulling him in tightly for a hug, returning every ‘I love you’ with one of his own. They were getting looks from other travellers and those there to pick loved ones up, but neither boy cared.

They kept the ‘I love you’ sign; it became theirs. Chad signed it up at Ryan as he took his bow in _Newsies_ , almost bringing happy tears to Ryan’s eyes. Ryan signed it back, not caring that it meant he had to break the pattern of the cast holding hands for another bow. When Ryan took his first bow on a Broadway stage in the title role of Pippin three years later, Chad was there and so was the gesture. Their lives changed around them, but that gesture remained their constant. Whenever Ryan was on vocal rest it would return in full force, but it never truly died out even when he could just as easily say the words.


End file.
